I got my new camera - A Nikon D50 - and I’ve taken a BUNCH of photos.  However, I realized a little late that I did not have it set for automatic focus, and so most of the pictures were so out of focus I deleted them.  Here are four that survived the delete button…barely.

This first picture is of a hen turkey with two chicks (rather large chicks) who were in our front yard yesterday morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next photo is of a deer who was on the hill behind our house Tuesday morning.  There were actually two deer and several turkeys - but they were too far apart to get all of them in the same photo.

 

And here, friends and neighbors, is the bane of my existence - poison ivy.  I took this photo last night when I was standing by this tree helping RT as he worked on the engine of the tractor.  I was VERY careful not to touch any of it.

 

 

 

And this is the second photo from last night.  Two blooming flowers - the background is one of the tractor tires.

I took this photo yesterday morning.  This is a photo of a turkey hen.  Three of her chicks were also in the tree, but I was unable to get a picture of them.  At one point (after I put away the camera), the mama turkey was silhouetted on that branch with one of the little chicks beside her.  It was SO cute - but of course they were gone by the time I got my camera again.

There was a turkey hen on a long curving branch of a tree in PawPaw’s yard awhile ago.  Behind her was a tiny chick - following closely.  They were silhouetted against the sky.  Two other chicks were on other branches of the tree.  A fantastic photo op.  By the time I ran inside and got my camera, they were gone.  Sigh.

I enjoy photography, and I hope to get a new camera soon so I can take better photographs when I return to Alaska in September.  I’m going to take a photography class before then, too. As a matter of fact, while we’re Alaska, we will spend two days with a photography group in Denali.  Here are THIRTEEN of my favorite photos from the past year.

1. A photo I took last July in Alaska - it’s a sunrise with a dock in the foreground.

 

2.  Another Alaskan photo - this is of a flower I saw out on the tunda of Denali.

3. Yet another picture from Alaska - snow-capped mountains and clouds reflected on Eagle River.

4. Some forsythia blooming early this spring in PawPaw’s yard.  I like the way it shows up against the sky. I had to lie down on the ground and point the camera upwards to get this shot.

5. Some flowers on the land where PawPaw and I will build our house.

6.  These are roses PawPaw gave me for Valentine’s Day.

7.  This photo is of a rainbow that appeared for about five minutes during a hailstorm last month.  That was the day that the tornadoes did so much damage in north Nashville.  It hailed for awhile, then the sun shone through the clouds for a few minutes, and then the storm resumed.

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8.  The hail I picked up from my yard right before the rainbow (above) appeared.

9.  Sunset in the countryside outside Nashville.

10. Another shot of forsytia.  I like this one because of the graceful curve of the branches.

11. The absolute lights of my life!  Here are Sunshine and Sweet Stuff (my two granddaughters) last summer when I babysat them for a week.  A great action shot, I think.

12. Flowers again - an unusual looking one from our land.  They’re called “Sweet Betsy”.

13.  One last flower photo.  It’s not in focus very well - but when I get my new camera soon, I should be able to take much better photos.  I like the delicate blooms of this wildflower.

 

 

One of the fun aspects of wandering over the land where PawPaw and I are going to build our home is seeing all the different wildflowers.  We bought a Tennessee Wildflower identification book — which PawPaw has.  I took some pictures - not the greatest in the world, but okay for identifying the flowers.  The “Sweet Betsy” is the most unusual — three spotted leaves (are they called “varigated”?) with a dark red flower spiking up in the middle.  The whitish flowers are “something-or-other Toothworth”.  I remember the toothwort part, but not the rest.  They’re pretty, aren’t they?

Photographs taken this past Sunday in Tennessee…  I just love springtime!

I took this photograph this afternoon of a forsythia branch. It was of a bush in RT’s backyard. I had to lie on the ground to aim the camera skyward to get the clouds for the background. I really liked the contrast of the yellow blossoms against the blue and white of the sky. There’s nothing more graceful than long, flowing branches of forsythia in bloom.